Events Programme 2023

Find out what events we will be holding in 2023.

Dates for your diary:

6th November - 22nd December 2023
VICTORIAN BIRMINGHAM: AN EXHIBITION OF OIL PAINTINGS & MONOPRINTS BY BARBARA SHACKLEY

Barbara has been involved in the Victorian Society since the 1970s and has been an avid painter for many years. This exhibition showcases Barbara's work on the subject of Victorian buildings in Birmingham. Many of the works are for sale and all proceeds will be donated to the West Midlands branch of The Victorian Society.


An exclusive viewing is open to members on Saturday 4th November. Please e-mail the Secretary, Akil Dowe, if you would like to come

E-mail enquiries to: [email protected]


Past Events in 2023:

Saturday 11th February
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
10.30 am
Papers for the AGM have been sent to our members.
The winner of our 2022 Conservation Award to be announced, followed by an update on current Casework in our region.
Complimentary tea/coffee on arrival.

A sandwich lunch can be ordered on arrival at the Café.

Saturday 11th March
A VISIT TO THE WEST MIDLANDS POLICE MUSEUM
Steelhouse Lane, Birmingham, B4 6BJ
£17 prior booking essential by Friday 3rd March
2.00pm
Meet at the Museum for a talk on the history of this listed building. Refreshments included and time to explore the range of historic police related exhibits as well as the cells.

Tuesday 18th April & Wednesday 26th April 26th

* MEMBERS ONLY * VISIT TO THE DREADNOUGHT WORKS, PENSNETT, DUDLEY, DY5 4TH
£7.50 including buffet lunch.
11.45 for 12.00 – 3.00.
Two date options available for visits deferred by Covid. Booking by Thursday 30th March. Priority will be given to members who booked in 2020, so do not send payment with the booking form, or even BACS pay, if you did not apply before. Notification of places on 31st March and then payment can be made.

Photos of the visit may be viewed here: Photos

Thursday 25th May
A VISIT TO CHURCHES IN THE FOREST OF ARDEN AREA OF WARWICKSHIRE
£23.50 including lunch
10.00 a.m. – 4.30 p.m
Led by Tim Bridges: St Mary & St Bartholomew, Hampton in Arden; St Swithin, Barston; St Mary, Temple Balsall; and St John the Baptist, Berkswell. Although none of these churches originated in the Victorian period, they all have significant Victorian additions. Own transport required, but we may be able to arrange some lifts.

Photos of the day may be viewed here: Photos

Wednesday 12th July

A COACH VISIT TO STOKE-ON-TRENT
£53.00 which includes coach fare, admission, morning tea/coffee & pastry and lunch at Middleport Pottery, and all gratuities.

The day’s programme will take us to the Grade II* listed MIDDLEPORT POTTERY works established in 1851 (home of blue and white Burleigh Ware) for a virtual tour of the factory and then a self-guided Heritage Trail of some of the original buildings. We will have a buffet lunch here and time to visit the factory shop before moving on to view: The exterior of the WEDGEWOOD INSTITUTE (Grade II*) an ornate building in the Venetian Gothic Style. Then onto the BETHESDA NEW CONNECTION METHODIST CHAPEL (Grade II*) featured in the 2003 BBC Restoration series. We will finish our tour at STOKE RAILWAY STATION (1848 Grade II*) by H.A.Hunt and surrounding LISTED BUILDINGS IN WINTON SQUARE.

8.30 a.m. First pick up at St Augustine’s Church, Lyttelton Road, Edgbaston, B16 9JN
8.50 a.m. Second pick-up in Church Street, Birmingham city centre (off Colmore Row)

We aim to be back in Birmingham city centre for 7.30 p.m.

Saturday 5th August 2023

A Guided Visit to Moseley Road, Birmingham: former School of Art, Balsall Heath Library & Moseley Road Baths
£6 to include tea/coffee at the Baths

The tour will be led by Joe Holyoak. Meet outside the former School of Art at 2.00 p.m.

Joe will show us both the exterior and inside the former Moseley Road School of Art. (1899 W. H. Bidlake).The façade was renovated in 2017- 18, and this is considered to be Bidlake’s most significant public building with Italian Renaissance motifs and features. We then cross over Moseley Road to the Library (1895 Cossins & Peacock), then into the newly restored upstairs rooms at the Baths (Grade II*, 1906–7, William Hale). The Manager’s Flat and the Board Room were part of Phase 1 of the restoration project. You will also have a chance to see the downstairs First Class Gala Baths, and other notable, highly decorated facilities. We will have refreshments at the end – some help may be needed with these.

Please note that there will be stairs to climb, and this visit is not suitable for anyone with mobility issues. The Victorian Society insurance only covers paid-up Society members.

Continuing restoration and conservation are being undertaken at Moseley Road Baths as a collaboration between the National Trust, Birmingham City Council, Historic England, World Monuments Fund, Moseley Road Baths CIO, the Friends of Moseley Road Baths and Heritage Lottery Fund. As the only UK baths built before 1914 to have continuous swimming since opening, this building has national as well as architectural significance. Joe is our Casework Chair, Vice Chair of the Regional Group of the Victorian Society and also a Trustee of the Baths and a key member of the FoMRB which has been at the forefront of the campaign to save and restore the facilities. This visit is restricted to 20 people with priority for Society members.

The No. 50 bus stops opposite the Baths and has a regular service. There is no nearby car park or on street parking on Moseley Road. Parking in side streets is possible but means a walk to the meeting point.

Weekend 6th to 8th October
NATIONAL AGM WEEKEND IN BATH
This October (6th to 8th) join us in Bath for our AGM weekend and the opportunity to discover the city's Victorian heritage.

Tuesday 24th October
A VISIT TO MALVERN COLLEGE & GREAT MALVERN, WORCESTERSHIRE
£19.50 which includes buffet lunch and afternoon refreshments

Malvern was no more than a village of 3,000 inhabitants in 1831 when Princess Victoria visited the area. By the time Queen Victoria died, the population was nearer 16,000. Growth on this scale can be explained by the arrival of the two Water Cure doctors in 1842. Their reputation spread quickly and very soon Malvern became a health resort in the same league as Cheltenham, Tunbridge Wells and Leamington Spa.

We start our day at 10.00 a.m. at Lady Foley’s Tea Room at Great Malvern Railway Station, where you may buy refreshments upon arrival.The station canopies are supported by elaborate, cast-iron pillars, and capitals decorated with high relief mouldings depicting different arrangements of flowers and foliage. Network Rail has recently spent £8 million on restoration of the platform canopies and ornate ironwork.

At 10.30 a.m. we explore the station and many of the surrounding fine Victorian buildings, guided by a member of Malvern Civic Society, before moving onto The Great Malvern Hotel for our buffet lunch, and taking in many of the other fine Victorian houses on the way.

After lunch, around 1.45 p.m., we then walk to Malvern College, which was founded in 1865 and is regarded as one of England’s premier independent schools.Our Honorary Treasurer, James Fletcher, who works at the College, will guide us around the College campus including the main College (1865), Chapel (1899), Pavilion (1894), Music School (1862), St Edmund’s Hall (1905) and others. We will finish with refreshments in the Memorial Library (1924) before returning to the station for our journey home.

Photos of the day may be viewed here: Photos

Saturday 28th October 2023 10.15 am to 4.30 pm
A DAY SCHOOL ON VICTORIAN ARCHITECTS WORKING IN BIRMINGHAM & WEST MIDLANDS
£35 including lunch & all refreshments. Registration 9.45 am onwards.
(Full -time students and 'Young Victorians' reduced rate of £25.00)

This day school will focus on architects who designed buildings across Birmingham and the West Midlands during the Victorian and Edwardian Eras

The scene will be set by Tim Bridges who will give an overview of the architectsworking in the area during the 19th and early 20th century. Then Joe Holyoak will illustrate the work of J. H. Chamberlain, architect of Birmingham's Civic Gospel which transformed the city's governance under the leadership of the Liberal Party. The morning concludes with Michael Harrison who will extend our knowledge of Alexander Harvey’s wide range of work.

The afternoon starts with Andy Foster who will share research from his recent Pevsner volume on the Black Country by talking about lesser known architects who worked in that area. Gillian Roberts will follow and introduce us to William Weller who designed houses in and around Wolverhampton. The day will conclude with Mary Worsfold on the architects and development of houses in Barnt Green between 1890 and the First World War.